Forever
by Frannehh
Summary: I promise, Freddie. I promise. Seddie.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! **

**Back with an iCarly fic! WOOH!**

**I came up with the idea for this while I was in the bath…**

**So, yeah. It's kinda late so I'm gonna rush the prologue… please point out any mistakes, and I'll fix them in my next update. **

**Thanks!**

**-Frannehh**

_Prologue_

Well, this is it. My life wasted. Forever and ever. Amen.

Yup. I'm moving away. As in, _away _away. As in, _England_.

Hey, at least the speak American there, right?

The reason behind me moving is a simple, three letter word; MOM. My mom is the world famous Clarisse Puckett. The actress, singer, model. The one who is being stalked. The stalker is why we're moving away. The police advised my mom to move out of the country 'cuz she was in danger.

I grip my best friend's hand. Carly Shay; the one I'll miss the most, probably. The brown-haired, straight-A student that keeps me level headed. We fight a lot, but then we make up just as quickly. It's the making up that I like the most.

My eyes flicker to my left, to see Spencer Shay, Carly's brother. He was always like _my _brother, too. What a waste of a relationship.

Beside him is my mom, chattering away aimlessly. He probably doesn't mind all that much… he's not the type to ignore a super hot actress. A certain someone on my right, next to Carly, coughs.

"Sam," I turn my head at the sound of Freddie's voice. "I…I hope you have a good time…in England."

"Listen, _Fredward_," I spit out, suddenly having to hold back tears. "Don't make it sound like I'm going on vacation, okay?"

Freddie and I aren't the best of friends. The opposite, actually…but I'm really going to miss him.

As we reach the departure lounge, my eyes really start blurring. Carly already has tears streaking down her apple-pie cheeks, but she's smiling for my sake. Freddie's staring at the ground. Spencer's looking pretty ticked off at my mom.

"So…this is it." Carly says, her voice thick. She glances up at the large, silver clock. "Ten more minutes."

I nod in agreement, biting on my lower lip. I look up at my friend. "I'm gonna miss you, Carls."

"Me too." She pauses. "Ankle swear. Ankle swear that we'll _always _be friends."

We go through the complicated process of the ankle swear, then hug. As I pull away, Freddie catches my eye.

I get a sudden feeling in my gut. A weird, unexplainable feeling.

I think about all of the mean things I've ever done to him. My face falls.

"Freddie," I say, blinking rapidly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

I pause, hunching up my shoulders. It's funny…I always have plenty of things to say to Freddie – _negative _things – but now I can't even think of an insult. I swallow.

"For _everything_." I turn to my mom. "I think we should go."

I give Carly a wave, smile wanly at Spencer, and walk away. I don't look back.

I prod at my meal and grimace. Why does airline food always look gross and taste like plastic?

Beside me, my mom sighs and peers into my face, concerned.

"Honey, you gotta eat." She says. "You're really pale."

"Leave me alone." I murmur, closing my eyes. Suddenly, something vibrates against my foot. I lean forward and fumble around in my chequered backpack for my cell phone. _One new message_.

I open my inbox and scan over the message.

Again.

And again.

_Sam,_

_Visit sometime. Promise me._

_Freddie._

I smile. Trust Fred_dork _to wait until I'm six-hundred feet in the air to say something like that. But it doesn't matter.

_I promise, Freddie. I promise._

**Hmm, that was a really short prologue… I'm sorry. T^T**

**I'll make the real chapters longer. Anyways. **

**REVIEW! PLEASE!**

**Or I'll cry…and you don't wanna see that. Trust me.**

**And just to let you know, that last line in italics (**_**I promise, Freddie. I promise.) **_**isn't a text. It's a thought. But the one that says **

"_**Sam,**_

_**Visit sometime. Promise me.**_

_**Freddie."**_

**Is a text. Thanks. :)**


	2. Chapter One

**Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god oh my god.**

**(sorry if you're religious.)**

**This is like, my best story **_**yet**_**. **

**After 17 hours I saw I had 11 reviews, and a bunch of people favourited the story and author (me) and had subbed for a story/author alert…thing.**

**SO THANK YOU SO FREAKIN MUCH!!**

**Oh, and thanks to iSeddie who pointed out a few errors in the Prologue. **_**Buuuuuut**_** I'm too lazy to edit right now. ^-^**

_Chapter One_

I stare up at the large, glass building that is my new home. I gulp; it looks a tonne like Bushwell, only smaller.

And it's not in Seattle, it's in London.

I sigh, and trail after my mom. As she babbles away to the check-in guy, I wander over to the smart leather sofa that's pushed up against the wall. I dig around in my backpack for my half-charged phone to check my messages. Meh. Just a text from _Verizon _asking me if I want to get more minutes or something. I don't understand all this tech stuff.

_Tech stuff_.

My lips twitch into a tiny smile. It fades just as quickly.

My mom turns to me, her ocean-colored eyes bright and sparkly. I look at her, trying to look excited and waiting for good news.

"We have a top floor apartment! We can see almost the whole of London from the balcony. Isn't that great?" mom says cheerily. I nod, copying her hyperactive grin. I have _no _idea why she's so happy about this. I mean, I _know _she's escaping a stalker and I _know _she's all safe now, but it's not cool.

Did she ever think about what _I _wanted?

I stand up and plaster a beam on my lips, faking the happiness. "That's…cool, mom."

I shoulder my backpack and follow her towards the elevator. I glance down at the floor, and I get a tug in the pit of my stomach. It's odd, but the wood below my feet is the same as in Bushwell. I don't know how I know that when I don't even know how to read that well. Just from the amount of times I've crossed the lobby to see Carly, I guess.

"Mom, do you know…" I pause to bite my lip. "If we'll ever visit Seattle again?"

_I promise, Freddie. I promise._

"I don't know, baby." She murmurs. "It's complicated."

Anger bubbles up inside of me. It's complicated for _her_, not me. Why did she have to go and get famous anyway?

"What? You mean…I'll never see Carly again? Or Spencer?" she stops in her tracks. "Or Freddie?"

Silence echoes around us. The elevator pings, which would've been funny if I hadn't just yelled at her like that. I run my fingers through my long, curly hair.

"I never wanted to move away. I just agreed 'cuz it would keep you safe. I wanted to _stay _in Seattle, but no. I came with you, didn't I?" I say, lowering my voice to a whisper. "I wanted to stay."

Mom walks towards me, and reaches out. She goes to touch my cheek, but I jerk my head out of her reach.

Then I notice. She tried to touch me at _arm's length_.

I sweep past and get in the elevator without her. I have no idea which room I'm supposed to be going to, but I head for the top floor.

A little old lady steps in on the sixth floor. She smiles at me, and I stare blankly back at her. My eyes drop into a glare.

"What?" I snap. The old lady clutches her handbag close to her chest. "What are you staring at?"

I turn my head away before she can reply. My face softens. _Man…I just yelled at an old person._

"Are you okay, dearie?" the lady says. "You're awfully pale."

"I'm fine, I guess…" I reply politely, looking up at her. "I just moved from Seattle. My mom is Clarisse Puckett, and she was being stalked, so we _had _to move. And then I got mad at her because I miss my friends and stormed off…then I got into the elevator and here we are."

"Well, that's a tricky situation you're in." she whispers sympathetically in her stereotypical English accent. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay."

"Would you like to join me for some coffee? My flat is just along the hall." The door pings open, and I frown.

"Your…flat?" I hesitate, unsure of what a flat was. The lady's eyes widen.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I mean my _apartment. _I forgot you were American for a moment there."

I smile, for real, and follow her out of the elevator and into the hall. Her silvery hair shines in the light.

"My name's Sam, by the way." I say. "Sam Puckett."

"I'm Julia," the lady replies with a warm smile that send shivers down my spine. "Nice to meet you, Sam." She pauses, blushing. "So you say you're mother is Clarisse Puckett?"

I nod, and her eyes almost pop out of her skull. I can tell she's a fan; her face goes pink as she acknowledges that Clarisse Puckett is living in the same building as her.

"I've been a very big fan of your mother since she got a role in that film, uh, movie, _Tides Aside_. Do you think you…could get an autograph from her for me?"

"I'll see what I can do." I chuckle as she opens her apartment door. I gasp as I step inside.

The walls are painted a dusty pink, and the carpets are bright white without a mark on them. Vases with pink and white roses are dotted around the room, filling the air with a sweet flowery smell.

The sofas are a light shade of cream with pink pillows, and a small end table in the same shade of pink is tucked next to the TV.

"It's so…lovely." I breathe. Normally, I'd hurl. I _hate _pink. But somehow, Julia can pull it off. She laughs.

"Thank you. I got some help with choosing the colors from my grand-daughter. She's about your age too." She replies, her blue-grey eyes sparkling.

"Oh, cool. How old is she?"

"Fourteen."

"I'm two years older."

Julia nods as if she already knew. She wanders into the minute kitchen and rummages around in a cupboard for a pair of cups and whatever else. I perch on the edge of one of the sofas, feeling so out of place. I mean, a scruffy, tomboy-ish teenager in a little old lady's _pink _apartment? I was terrified of getting mud on the carpet or something.

"Please, relax." Julia says, placing two cups of coffee and some cookies on the little glass table in front of me. "I don't bite."

I blink at her, smile politely and reach forward for my cup. I take a sip of the coffee and my insides melt. I haven't had coffee as good as this in forever.

"So, Julia…" I pause, ducking my head. "I don't want to sound rude, but why did you invite me in?"

"You're just like my grand-daughter. I bet your grand-mother would do the same for my little Rebecca…"

"I don't have a grandma anymore."

I pause to swallow back tears. J'mamaw, as we used to call her, died last year. We were never that close, but she was pretty fun to hang out with. An image of her doing a crazy horse impression flashed through my mind and I gave a feeble smile.

"I'm so sorry, dearie." Julia says slowly, understanding my every word. "You're not a very lucky person, are you?"

"No, not really…" I think about all the lucky things in my life so far; I found a dollar on the floor, found the best friends in the world, and had the first kiss of my life.

With _Freddie._

Yup. I said it. I shiver (mentally) at the thought of it, only because I don't get on with Freddie too well…obviously. But it _was _a nice kiss.

**-x-**

"_What's up?" I ask. _

"_Nothing." Freddie's new lower voice replies from the deck chair. _

_He stands up and turns down the music that's playing softly from his PearPod. The sound of car horns below us blares out even more._

"_Meatball?" I offer, holding out a brown piece of heaven. Correction, a brown piece of _stolen _heaven. Kind of._

"_No thanks?" he retorts, giving me an odd and slightly confused look. His raised-eyebrow look is kinda cute…_

_Um…I mean cute in a little kid way. Believe me. _Seriously.

_I shrug and throw the meatball over the balcony. It probably hits someone on the head. Oh well. Freddie looks at me, smiling._

"_That was really brave," he says. "What you said."_

_My face twitches, and my mouth falls into a grimace. "You heard?"_

_The dork turns around and pulls his laptop off of a step on the metal staircase. I've never known what that staircase is for. Probably an emergency fire exit or something. _

"_You didn't think I'd miss iCarly?" he chuckles slightly and puts his laptop down onto the deck chair. I can't help but smile. Freddie perches on the step, sitting in a casual manner. _

"_I'm sorry." I blurt out, a little half-heartedly. "About telling everyone you never kissed anyone."_

_Freddie's shoulders fall and he looks away._

"_And about putting blue cheese dressing in your shampoo bottle." … "And about sending your cell phone to Cambodia." … "Everything. Okay?"_

"_So this means you're not going to mess with me any more?" Freddie asks with a twang of hope in his voice._

"_No, I'm still gonna mess with you." I reply instantly. "I'm just gonna apologise every few years so I can start fresh again."_

"_Good."_

"_Good?" _

"_Yeah!" he says, smiling. "It'd be weird if you didn't make my life miserable all the time!"_

_I smirk, and his expression changes. Is that… pleading?_

"_But… you know, maybe you could pull back just a little bit?"_

"_I don't think so."_

"_Yeah, I didn't either."_

_A few moments of silence pass, and I smirk. _

"_This is so dumb."_

"_What do you mean?" the dork asks._

"_You know," I say. "How people get all freaked out over their first kiss. Pft. It's stupid."_

"_So you weren't lying?" Freddie retorts, frowning. "You've really never kissed anyone?"_

_I shake my head slightly, embarrassed. "Nope."_

_A thoughtful look graces Freddie's face. His eyes go all weird and blank, like when he thinks a little _too _hard._

"_Sometimes I just…" I pause. "Wish I could get it out of the way."_

"_Yeah, I know, me too."_

"_Right?" I say. "You know, just so I can stop worrying about it."_

"_Yeah." _

_Man, he says '_yeah_' a lot. He chuckles, a small smirk on his face._

"_What?" I ask, frowning and smiling at the same time. _

"_Nothing. It's just…"_

"_Tell me!"_

"_Nah… it's dumb."_

"_Say it!" I pry._

"_Okay." He says. "I was just gonna say - "_

"_That _we _should kiss?" I guess, raising an eyebrow. Ha, Freddie's so predictable._

_He reels back a little, blushing. I can't believe he said something like that. We _hate _each other. Why would he want to kiss me?_

"_You're gonna break my arm now, right?" he asks nervously, looking away. I shake my head, still in shock. _

"_No."_

"_Well…" Freddie pauses, still not looking at me directly. "Should we?"he shrugs. "Just so both of us can get it over with?"_

"_Hm." I consider. I point at him threateningly. "_Just _to get it over with."_

"_Just to get it over with."_

_I shuffle into a more comfortable position. "And you swear we go right back to hating each other as soon as it's over?"_

"_Totally!" Freddie agrees. His eyes are sparkling. "And we never tell _anyone_." _

"_Never." I echo. We sit there like idiots as silence hangs over us. "Well…lean."_

_Freddie leans. We kiss. My brain explodes._

_The kiss lasts a while. He pulls away with a surprised expression on his face. He blinks with the shock of it all._

"_Well, that was, um…"_

"_Nice." I finish his sentence, not wanting to look at him._

"_Yeah, nice, uh…"_

"_Good work."_

"_Thank you, you too."_

_I climb back in through the window. "Hey,"_

_I turn around at the sound of Freddie's voice. _

"_I hate you." Freddie says, stifling a laugh and smiling. I smirk back at him._

"_Hate you too." _

_I walk away, my head still buzzing._

**-x-**

"Well, you know what always cheers me up?"

My nose twitches.

"Ham!" I look up to see Julia stood with a plate of fresh ham, in all it's fattening glory. My eyes widen; I don't think I've ever seen ham that good. "Please, help yourself."

I nod slowly and pluck a slice off the plate. I take a cautious bite, followed by several more larger bites. After about three seconds, the whole slice is in my mouth.

"I guess you're a fan of ham, too?" Julia laughs, a cute fairy laugh.

"Ever since I was a kid it's been my favourite comfort food." I reply through a mouthful of pink piggy heaven. "Well, ham and gravy."

"Ah, yes, gravy is the liquid of life." She jokes, laughing again. I wonder how Julia can guzzle gravy and live on ham and still be so skinny.

Oh well.

**-x-**

**Well, here's chapter one!**

**It's a little bit short… but that's only because I was stuck for ideas.**

**And too many people were telling me to hurry up and get this chapter posted.**

**The other chapters will be longer!**

**Oh, and my fic, 'The Love Life Of A Teenage Ino' will have a new chapter this weekend! Yay!**

**So… that's about it. Bye!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Hey! So…here's chapter two.**

**I hope you like it!**

_Chapter Two_

"Carly, hey!"

"Sam, oh my gosh, I miss you so much!"

I smile at the sound of Carly's voice. For the first time ever, I don't have anything to say. I'm just too happy.

"How's London? How's your apartment? Was your journey okay? How's your mom?" she babbles down the line, a little too hyperactive for my liking. I just smile and bear it.

"Good, amazing, okay, ugh." I reply, holding back a chuckle. It's so unlike Carly to babble on like a cheerleader. "Are those answers good enough for you?"

"I suppose," Carly replies, probably smiling. I don't know how I know; just instinct. "Did you get Freddie's text?"

"Yeah, and tell him I got lectured by the flight attendant people because I had my cell on. I almost died of boredom, tell him that."

"Okay, I will." Carly says. An awkward silence, then, "You know, it's not even been a week and he's going crazy."

I pause, cheeks going red. Freddie…going crazy…for me? "Really?"

"I mean, I'm going crazy too…you're my best friend, after all." Carly corrects herself, covering Freddie. "But Freddie hasn't spoken to anyone except me since you left. It's kinda of sad…"

On the other end of the line, there's a bang and a quiet voice.

"Oh, hold on, Sam, one sec." Carly says.

"Sure." I say, as Carly pulls the phone away from her ear. About ten seconds later, Carly returns.

"Um, Sam, you have someone here…who wants to talk to you." she whispers in a low voice, and leaves the phone. Another familiar voice fills my ear.

"Hey, Sam."

I gasp. _Freddie._

"Sup, _Fredward_." I spit back, trying to act as cocky and cool as I usually do. But not now; hot tears blur my vision and I realise. I'm already homesick. "What do you want?"

"I, uh, just wanted to…check up. Make sure you're okay…make sure…you didn't end up in Canada."

_If I was in Canada, I'd be on the bus back to Seattle by now, Freddie._

"Nah, I'm fine. Fought with my mom a little…met a nice old lady who makes awesome tea. The usual." I say, my voice a little thick. "Carly says you're - "

"What Carly said was I lie, I'm not going crazy." Pause. "I miss you. That's all."

"Freddie, I've been gone, what, two, three days? Just…" I bite my lip. "Pretend I'm on vacation. A really, really long vacation."

"Except you're not coming back, are you?"

"No, I'm not. Ever." Then, Carly's voice.

"Um." She says. "Freddie passed out."

**-x-**

I loll back on the sofa, sighing. I need a tennis racket. And a balloon. And a Carly.

And a dork to walk in the door.

I raise my arm and clench my fist, then I stretch my hand so my palm hurts. Close, open, close, open, close –

"Sa-_am_!"

I roll my eyes as my mom barges in the room, clutching _x _amount of shopping bags. She seems to forget that money runs out.

"Look it! I got you these!" she rummages around in one bag and produces a pair of pink flip-flops with purple straps, my two least favourite colours. "Like them?"

I roll over onto my stomach, and shoot her a glare.

"One, you know I don't like pink and purple. Two, it's winter. Three, it's winter and we're in _England_." I say; she blinks at me.

"So?"

"Ugh, for crying out _loud_!" I shout, standing up to my full height. "Do you know how cold it is outside?" I eye her up and down, observing her shorts, ballet flats and tee shirt. "Obviously not."

I tug at the hem of my sweater, looking down. My red slippers twist slightly, pulling at my feet. I lift each leg in turn, straightening the slippers. Comfy.

"Sometimes I think the fame, and living in Seattle, and the money…" I whisper. "I think it's all that you think about. Never me, or my life, or… or _Dad_."

Mom's eyes widen, as do mine. I can't believe I just said that. I can't believe I mentioned _him_.

"Now, honey," mom replies softly. "We promised we wouldn't talk about that."

"That? You think Dad is a _that_?" I yell, stepping forward. "He's a human being, mom! And he's out there, somewhere! I know it!"

"No, he's not, Sam, live with it!"

"I can't live with it, and neither should you, he's out there - "

"Your father – is – dead!" mom screams, and it feels like I've been slapped.

**-x-**

"D-dead?" I whisper, sitting down. "No, no, he can't be, he's lost at sea, you told me - "

"I lied." Mom says. "Your dad died several weeks after he left."

"You mean…dad's been dead…for seven years…and you didn't tell me?" I repeat, running her words through my head and hoping it's a misinterpretation. It's not.

"Yes. He's – _dead_." Mom replies, her shoulders sagging. "I'm so sorry, Sam. I couldn't tell you, you were so _young_."

"That's why you cried so much." I say in a flat tone. "That week…I was in so much pain, watching you fade away like that. I was scared."

"I know, honey." Mom reaches out and strokes my hair. I pull away.

"Don't touch me!" I yell, shaking. "I can't believe you. _Seven years _you hid it from me. _Why, _mom?"

"I had to protect you. If you knew, God knows what you'd do."

"Mom, I was nine. What could I do that was so bad?"

Mom looks at me from under her eyelashes, which are dotted with silver tears. "You were more than eccentric when you were little. You would stop at nothing to get what you wanted…you were almost indestructible. And so _violent._ I couldn't tell you."

"Why don't I remember?" I spit back.

"I don't know." Mom shrugs lazily, and gives a wan smile. "I guess you grew out of it, and it just slipped your mind. The bottom line? You would've gone crazy."

I nod a little. I can't get her words through my head. And I only need one person to make it better.

**-x-**

"Freddie?" I swallow. "It's me, Sam."

"Oh, uh, uh, hi Sam." He stutters back. "What's up? Are you crying?"

I blink and wipe the lingering tears with my free arm. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Why? What's wrong?" I can hear concern in his voice. _Concern. _For _me. _The girl who hid his corndog.

"My dad. He's dead." I whisper.

"Sam…I'm so sorry." He replies. "But I thought he was lost at sea?"

"For seven years? I can't believe I didn't figure it out before." I smirk slightly, holding back a fresh round of tears.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's okay. And…I'm sorry."

"No problem. But…why me?"

"I need you."

I can't believe I just said that. I hear him catch his breath, and he probably blushes. I know I do.

"It's okay. I mean, what are…friends…for?" he murmurs. I smile.

"Right." There's an awkward silence, and I sigh.

"You know what, Sam? I'm gonna make it better, I promise." Pause. "Man, that sounded cheesy."

"How are you gonna do that? We're in different continents." I sniff. "And it's not like you can bring dad back."

"I know."

**Sorry it's so short. Hope you liked it though :D**


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